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Artist/Maker
Thomas Nast
(American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)
Datepublished November 11, 1871
MediumWood engraving on newsprint
DimensionsComposition: 13 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (34.3 × 52.1 cm)
Sheet: 16 × 22 in. (40.6 × 55.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Professor Emeritus Jay Williams, Class of 1954
Object number2019.13.153
Not on view
Description“This is surely one of Nast’s most powerful pictures. Note all the principal villains above. This is one of several pictures that show the influence of Nast’s visit to Rome’s Coliseum in 1860.”
(SOURCE: Jay Williams, "Thomas Nast: America in Black and White, 2002)
"Nast depicts the scene succeeding Columbia’s slaughter to evoke a nationalistic sentiment against Tammany Hall. Inspired by his visit to Rome’s Coliseum in 1860, this illustration alludes to the brutal nature of the Roman state, which was headed by a single Emperor. Within the cartoon, Tammany Hall ring leader Boss Tweed fulfils this role, enjoying the spectacle with other well-known Democratic politicians. In the foreground, a slew of bodies directs the eye towards a mauled Columbia: lying on a torn banner of ‘law’ with her broken sword to her left. Wearing a collar inscribed ‘Americus’–a synonym of the ‘Big Six’, the name of Tweed’s firemen’s company– the Tammany tiger flaunts his kill, fixing his eyes on the next victim, the viewer. The mauling of Columbia’s femininity combined with the evocative caption summons an empathetic response: Nast almost asks the male viewer to avenge her."
(SOURCE: Mary Bei Prince, "Thomas Nast's Conception of Nineteenth Century Women", 2019)
Collections
Additional Details
Exhibition History
2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.). Work exhibited in second rotation only, Spring 2025 semester.
2002
Clinton, NY (Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Thomas Nast: America in Black and White," November 11, 2002 - January 5, 2003 (cat. no. 67)
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.). Work exhibited in second rotation only, Spring 2025 semester.
2002
Clinton, NY (Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Thomas Nast: America in Black and White," November 11, 2002 - January 5, 2003 (cat. no. 67)
Provenance
2019: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by gift of Jay G. Williams.
Published References
Jay Williams, THOMAS NAST: AMERICA IN BLACK AND WHITE, exh. cat. (Clinton, NY: Emerson Gallery, 2002), p. 6.
Signature
Signed "Th Nast" in block at lower right composition.
Inscribed
Title typeset beneath image in black ink. Page numbers "1056" and "1057" and publisher typeset above image in black ink.
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 17, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.255
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 20, 1869
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.111
Thomas Nast
Date: published March 14, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.234
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 24, 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.28
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 3, 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.26
Thomas Nast
Date: published May 20, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.133
Thomas Nast
Date: published August 5, 1865
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.71
Thomas Nast
Date: published April 9, 1864
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.57
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 7, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.258
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 3, 1868
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.103
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 28, 1876
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.346
Thomas Nast
Date: published July 17, 1869
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.109